The standard posture of the hand

Abstract

Perceived limb position is known to rely on sensory signals and motor commands. Another potential source of input is a standard representation of body posture, which may bias perceived limb position toward more stereotyped positions. Recent results show that tactile stimuli are processed more efficiently when delivered to a thumb in a relatively low position or an index finger in a relatively high position. This observation suggests that we may have a standard posture of the body that promotes a more efficient interaction with the environment. In this study, we mapped the standard posture of the entire hand by characterizing the spatial associations of all 5 digits. Moreover, we show that the effect is not an artifact of intermanual integration. Results showed that the thumb is associated with low positions, while the other fingers are associated with upper locations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).